Last weekend Coach Dan Gable spoke about
giving it all you have in your workout -then
placing your attention on recovery from the
workout.
“Work just as hard on recovery as you do in
the workout,” he said.
This is sage advice. Thing is most people have
no idea how to recover after training. Nor do
they recognize the grand importance of it.
Thankfully, I’m not one of those who thinks
recovery is unimportant. And I credit this as
helping me avoid most of the major surgeries
that many competitive athletes and martial
artists have undergone.
So many people get banged up and refuse to
recover properly. Or they train the wrong way –
doing exercises that are questionable at best.
They may get stronger – but at a huge expense.
Shoulders are ruined from heavy bench pressing.
Knees are shot from training on machines instead
of free hand. Backs are ruined from dead lifts done
wrong.
Then there are the people who work all day and never
take time to train. These people never rid their body
of the negative stress associated with their job. And
it leads to physical and mental decline.
Very quickly, here are 5 ways to rejuvenate your body
that I will cover in far more detail for members of the
Matt Furey Inner Circle.
1. Proper Exercise – That’s right. This may seem like a
mind-bender – but exercise in and of itself – if done with
a deep connection to your breathing and with con-
centration on your muscles – will help rejuvenate you. There
is a fine line, however. Anytime you force yourself to do
more than ever before – then the exercise is a rejuvenator –
but you’ll need extra time to recover from it without
exercising.
2. Deep Breathing – You might think you did enough deep
breathing during your exercise period – but recovery will
be faster and more dramatic if you continue to focus on
how you breathe after you train. Even right now – how
conscious are you of your breathing. Is it shallow or deep
and full.
3. Food Selection – If you choose foods that are loaded with
starch, high fructose corn syrup, msg, corn starch and so on –
this will make it much harder for you to recover from hard
training. Think in colors like orange, yellow, red, purple, green
and so on when you eat. White is usually the devil’s choice.
If you want to get fat (or fatter) – eat white.
4. Sauna – One of the most rejuvenating activities is taking
a sauna – causing more toxins to be released through
sweating. A sauna also warms your muscles, increases
blood flow and gives your internal organs a well needed
jolt.
5. Sports Massage – It’s no accident that the Great Gama
of India was in an exercise system that included DAILY
massage – http://gama-fitness.com – Nor is it accidental
that many countries in the world make sure their athletes
get a good sports massage on a regular basis. I have gone
from feeling I was on my last legs – to fully rejuvenated
by getting a powerful sports massage.
There are many other keys to rejuvenation – but these five
will keep you busy for life. Use them and experience the
benefits.
Matt Furey